BOCA RATON, Fla. — The University of Notre Dame softball team road the arms of Alexis Holloway and Payton Tidd to victories over Illinois State and North Dakota State Saturday in first-day action from the FAU/FIU Parents’ Weekend Tournament. The Irish opened the day with a 5-1 win over the Redbirds before holding off the Bison, 3-2, in the nightcap.
Holloway (5-4) struck out four and yielded just a pair of hits over 5.0 scoreless innings of work against Illinois State. She also factored into the victory over North Dakota State. Holloway relieved Tidd with Notre Dame clinging to a one-run lead, 3-2, and runners on first and second with just one out. She retired the next two Bison batters to pick up her third save of the season.
Tidd (5-3) scattered nine hits, four of which were infield knocks, and allowed two earned runs over 6.1 innings. She fanned five and walked one.
Key Innings vs. Illinois State
Bottom 3 – Notre Dame gabbed a 2-0 lead on Caitlyn Brooks two-run home run to centerfield. The round tripper was Brooks’ team-leading fifth of the season. Ali Wester led off the inning with a bunt single.
Bottom 4 – Notre Dame extended its lead to 3-0 on a two-out RBI single from Alexis Bazos.
Bottom 5 – Katie Marino and Brooks opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After Melissa Rochford executed a sacrifice bunt that advanced both Marino and Brooks, MK Bonamy singled down the right-field line to push the Irish lead to 4-0. Notre Dame made it 5-0 when Anna Grace Wagner raced home on an Redbird error.
Key Innings vs. North Dakota State
Top 1 – Notre Dame grabbed a 1-0 lead on Bonamy’s two-out RBI single.
Top 5 – The Irish extended their lead to 3-0. Wester drew a one-out walk and moved into scoring position following Marino’s single. After a Brooks’ fly out and Rochford walk, Bonamy, once again, stepped up. She ripped a 1-2 pitch back-up-the-middle to plate Wester and Marino.
Bottom 5 – North Dakota State cut the Irish lead to 3-1 on a two-out infield single from Katie Shoultz.
Bottom 7 – The Bison did not go quietly. Madyson Camacho and Shoultz registered back-to-back, one-out singles. Zoe Stavrou followed with North Dakota State’s third consecutive hit, and the Notre Dame lead was down to a run, 3-2, but Holloway would close the door.
Up Next
The Irish are scheduled to play two more games at the FAU/FIU Parents’ Weekend Tournament Sunday. Notre Dame is slated to take on East Carolina at 11:15 a.m. ET before facing Florida A&M at 1:30 p.m. ET. Fans can stay tuned to @NDSoftball on Twitter for the latest schedule updates, should changes occur.
— ND —